IVF couples can now watch their embryo developing in real time - using a smartphone app.

It literally puts them in the lab, with round-the-clock access to images of their baby-to-be as it evolves.

More than 500 British couples have so far trialled the Embryomobile application, developed by Institut Marquès Barcelona, in Spain.

It is designed to help parents get directly involved during all phases of the IVF process and reduce their stress during the treatment and pregnancy.

Experts use an embryoscope, an incubator containing a camera.

This takes a photograph of the embryo every 20 minutes for the three to five days that it is being incubated after fertilisation, and before it is transferred to the mother-to-be.

IVF couples can now watch their embryo developing in real time - using an app on their smartphone. Pictured is the Embryomobile application, developed by Institut Marquès Barcelona, in Spain

Filming the beginning of life, it is connected to a smartphone, allowing parents to see their embryo develop in the five days until it is transferred into the uterus.

Dr Marisa López-Teijón, director of Institut Marquès, said: 'Being able to check the state of the embryos gives a feeling of control and reduces uncertainty. Parents-to-be maintain a positive involvement during the process.

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She continued: 'It's fantastic that they are now able to see it by themselves and know what is happening at every moment.'

Assisted reproduction and pregnancy can create high levels of anxiety for expecting mothers and fathers.

In fact, the two most stressful moments during IVF treatment are the fertilisation and the development of the embryo in the lab, and after the implantation while waiting for the pregnancy test.

The first phase of the assisted reproduction treatment can be particularly stressful for would-be parents because of the lack of control.

A spokesman for Institut Marquès Barcelona said: 'People say it makes them feel calm them and they said it is amazing to see the creation of new life.

During IVF, an embryo is fertilised in a lab before being transferred to the uterus, and then couples face an anxious 10 to 14-day wait for the test to reveal if they are pregnant. This composite shows the various stages of embryo development

The smartphone is connected to an incubator containing a camera which takes a photograph of the embryo every 20 minutes for the three to five days that it is being incubated after fertilisation

A spokesman for Institut Marquès Barcelona said: 'People say it makes them feel calm them and they said it is amazing to see the creation of new life'

'They are amazed to see their children being created and they say it makes them feel part of the process.

'Most people were very impressed for the images. The average couple looked at the images three or four times a day.'

More than 3.000 patients have already used the Embryomobile app - among them 505 from the UK.

A survey carried out by Institut Marquès and presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction Congress (ESHRE) revealed that, for most patients, the experience is 'moving' and 'amazing', and also helps them reduce the levels of anxiety.

The same scientists are also investigating whether playing music to a embryo through a speaker inserted into the vagina could improve the success of IVF.

They have launched a trial to test the effects of Babypod, a tiny speaker inserted into the vagina like a tampon, which plays music to the recently-implanted foetus.

They want to find out if music vibrations can improve the activation of the endometrium and, therefore facilitate the implantation of the embryo - improving the chance of a pregnancy.

Scientists are also investigating whether playing music to a embryo through a speaker inserted into the vagina could improve the success of IVF. Pictured is the Babypod, an intravaginal speaker

A previous study from the Institut showed that unborn babies can hear sounds in the womb at just 16 weeks gestation. Until then, it was believed they could not hear until 18 weeks at the earliest

During IVF, an embryo is fertilised in a lab before being transferred to the uterus, and then couples face an anxious 10 to 14-day wait for the test to reveal if they are pregnant.

Institut Marquès scientists will now test whether playing music of the mother's choosing to the embryo for 20 minutes in the morning and night, will help implantation.

In a previous study, the Institut Marquès was the first to show that babies in the womb are able to hear in the womb at just 16 weeks gestation.

They found a foetus is able to detect sounds at this age, and furthermore, that they respond by moving their mouths and tongues.

Researchers found a foetus is able to detect sounds at just 16 weeks old, when they are 11cm long, and furthermore, that they respond by moving their mouths and tongues

It is accepted that an unborn baby's ear is fully developed at week 16 of a pregnancy.

Until their research, experts did not believe a foetus could hear until week 18, at the earliest but more commonly nearer 26 weeks.

Dr Marisa Lopez-Teijon, who led the study, said the findings showed a foetus responds to music transmitted intravaginally by moving their mouth and tongue, 'as if they were trying to speak or sing'.

However, the same study found no response from the foetus when sound was played through the mother's stomach.

The music stimulates the part of the brain involved in communication, and on hearing the sound the foetus responds with movements similar to vocalisation - the step prior to singing and speaking.

A survey by the Institut found 80 per cent of patients say the Babypod reduces anxiety significantly.

Patients have confirmed that using the device made them feel more relaxed and even more optimistic, as by playing music to their child they felt they were doing 'something useful to improve the right development of the pregnancy'.

This device is already being commercialised, so that all pregnant women can share music with their babies and use it during the ultrasounds to see the reactions of the babies.

The new study will include a total of 900 patients and is open to all women who need an assisted reproductive treatment.